Now you can install a simple plugin from Jean-Marie Simonet (aka infograf768), the "grandfather of joomla" that resolves all of this.
The Multilingual registration approval plugin solves all of this. It changes the joomla registration process so that:
- User signs up
- User confirms email address
- Admin receives notification and a one click link to approve the registration
- Admin approves registration
- User account is created
And of course it is available in multiple languages. What else would you expect from the one man who has done more to drive the internationalisation of joomla. (The inspiration for this plugin comes from an obscure plugin "admin approval".)
This is one extension that is going to be part of every site install I do from now on. Part of my "essential joomla extension toolkit".